Elongated items such as wiring harnesses used in automotive, marine and aerospace applications are preferably ensheathed in a protective covering which extends along the length of their run. The covering may be, for example, flexible convolute tubing formed of a polymeric material. Such tubes have sufficient stiffness to hold the various wires comprising the harness in an organized bundle and thus provide for a neat installation. The tubes are also sufficiently flexible to conform to curved paths which the harness may be forced to take when routed through an automotive or aircraft structure. The tubes provide a tough, abrasion resistant exterior which protects the wires of the wiring harness from damage which would otherwise occur when the harness rubs against structure in response to vibration.
However, at branch points in the wiring harness where two or more branches of the harness separate from another branch to follow different paths, the convolute tubing is present on each branch but stops short of the actual junction. This leaves a length of each branch at or near the junction exposed to damage by cuts and abrasion. In fact, the protective tubing itself can be a source of abrasion damage because the harness can chafe against the sharp edge of the convolute tubing formed at the tube end where it was cut to accommodate the branching of the harness.
This problem is often addressed by wrapping the wiring harness at the junction with flexible, self-adhesive tape, for example, vinyl electrical tape. While this solution provides some degree of protection to the harness at the junction, it suffers the following disadvantages. The tape stiffens the harness at the junction, making it less accommodating to the path it must assume. The tape is never applied, in practice, in a standard or uniform manner, resulting in some junctions having too much tape and some too little. Furthermore, the tape requires considerable time to install, and once installed, the tape, due to its adhesive nature, prevents ready access to the harness for repairs or splices. To effect a repair or a splice, the tape must be laboriously removed by hand each time the junction is serviced. The tape is usually applied over both the harness and the convolute tubing and does not provide any protection against chafing of the harness wires by the sharp edge at the end of the tube. Clearly, there is a need for an article which protects wiring harness junctions which eliminates the use of adhesive tape and its many disadvantages.